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Poetry Genius Shares the Best Train Rhymes Ever

Happy National Poetry Month! As we gear up for #AmtrakResidency, which will give 24 writers the opportunity to work on their projects during inspiring, long-distance train travel, we wanted to join this country-wide celebration and learn a bit more about train poetry.

We chatted with Austin Allen, poet, essayist, and founding editor of Poetry Genius, an annotation forum for poetry, prose and drama.

What’s the best poem about trains you’ve ever read?Philip Larkin’s “The Whitsun Weddings” is my favorite train poem and one of my favorite poems, period. I love the balance it strikes between reserved, skeptical detachment and a sense of communion with fellow passengers–both common feelings on train trips, I think. I’d also recommend Mark Strand’s “The Couple,” although the train in that one is sort of an antagonist.

Where do you like to write?In bed, late at night, for a maximum of comfort and a minimum of distraction.